Safety device for engines



w. R.EIC,HENASER.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 001'- z, 1920.

1,391,724, PatentedSept. 27,1921.

/ k552i 5 Emmi "INN i I g INVENTOR ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT, QFFIQE.

WILLIAM R. EICHENSER, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR "ENGINES;

Specification of Letters Patent. V

Patented Sept. 27, 1921.

Application filed October 7, 1920. Serial No. 415,290.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WVILLIAM R. EICHEN- tion and the engine thereby tends to run away with its load, and is particularly adapted to stationary engines which have a. belt driven throttling governor,

Engines subjected to variable loads as for instance, in rolling mill operations, where no load to full load changes frequently ocour, and controlled by belt driven governors will run wild if the governor belt breaks, slips or runs offithe pulleys. In the eventof such conditions the fly wheel will acquire so great a speed that the resultant centrifugal force exceeds the static strengthof the material of which the fly wheel is made, with disastrous effects to life and property.

The object of my invention is therefore to prevent an engine from running away with its load when the governor belt breaks,

slips or runs off the pulleys by an automatic means adapted to throttle the engine down without any human attention and at the same time to operate a whistle or other alarm to announce the trouble.

My invention comprises a weighted stop rod normally held in position by a trip so as to be clear of the engine admission valve reach rod and aweighted trip lever provided with an idler pulley which rides on the governor belt, thereby holding the trip lever in normal position. The weight on the trip a lever is sufficient to cause the idler pulley to act normally as a belt tightener for the gov ernor belt, but if the governor belt breaks or runs off the pulleys, the trip lever drops, thus disengaging the trip and allowing the weighted stop rod' to drop onto the admission valve reach rod. This lowers the admission valve reach rod in the eccentric link slot and the valve is thus thrown into the po sition of minimum admission, thereby slowing the engine down and preventing it from running wild. I

My invention further comprises a cable connected to the stop rod and to a whistle on the steam line, so that when the stop rod drops it pulls on the cable and blows the whistle to audibly announce the trouble.

- Having thus given a general description of my invention, I will now, in order to make the matter more clear, refer to the annexed sheet of drawings, which forms part of this specification and in which like characters of reference refer to likeparts: I

Figure l is a side elevation of a steam engine showing the embodiment of my invention therewith;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view to a larger scale, taken on line IIII of Fig. 8; and a I .Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of the right hand portion of Fig. 1, showing the embodiment of my invention in detail, the governor pulley and crank shaft of the engine being shown in section and the flywheel omitted.

Referring now to the charaoters of refer ence on the drawings: 1 indicates the en gine frame and 2 the crank shaft on which the eccentric 3 is mounted, The governor belt a passes around the crank shaft 2, by which it is driven, and drives the governor pulley 6, which is secured to the governor drive shaft 5. I i

The lever 7 is, fulcrumed on the pin 11 so as to turn freely thereon and carries at one end of the shaft 9 the idler pulley 10 which rides on the governor belt 41-, and the weights 12 on the rod 11, whichis suspended from the trip lever 7, cause the idler pulley 10 to act as a belt tightener for the governor belt 1,- thus maintaining the trip lever 7 in the normal or running position and preventing slip of the governor belt. The trip lever? is provided with the lug 8. I a

The trip 13 is provided with the tripping point'l l with which the lug 8 is adaptedto forcibly contact, and the catch 15 which normaly engages the lo 16 on the stop rod 17,

in the raised position reach rod 38, vSlots 21 in the upper end of the stop rod 17 guide the axle 20 of the wheel 19. There is also mounted in the upper end of the stop rod 17 just above the wheel 19 a shock absorbing or cushioning device comprising the spring 22 and the bearing plate 39. 32 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 indicates the stop rod 17 of extended length as adapted to my device when applied to steam engines equipped with the Corliss type of valve gear. In any case if preferable or necessary the stop rod 17 can be made of sufiicient length so that the hooked end thereof can extend over the governor control lever 28. 3 is the exhaust valve reach rod of the valve gear shown and is adapted to operate the exhaust valve with constant release and compression.

23 indicates the shoe or slide block of the admission valve reach rod 38 and the shoe 23 moves in the slotted link 24 of the eccentric strap. The shoe 23 is hinged to the admission valve reach rod 38 and the floating link 26 by the pin or bolt and accordingly as the shoe 23 is raised or lowered in the slotted link 2% of the eccentric strap, the admission valve cut off is retarded or advanced, thereby varying the time of admission so as to maintain the speed of the engine to the power requirements. The governor 31 acting on the control lever 28 which carries the counterweight and is fulcrumed to the governor frame by the pin or bolt 29 and to the floating lever 26 by the pin or bolt 27, ordinarily operates to raise or lower the shoe 23 through the floating link 26, therebycontrolling the engine speed. 7

37 is the inlet valve on the steam line. 36 is a whistle connected to the steam line and a cable 34 extends from the lever of the whistle 36 over the sheave 35 to the top of the stop rod 17 Assuming the position of the parts to be as shown in the drawings, the operation of my engine safety device is as follows: the

" parts as shown are in the normal or operating position, the trip lever 7 being heldin place by the governor belt d and the stop rod 17 by the lug 16 in engagement with the catch 15 of the trip 13. If the governor belt 1 breaks or runs off the pulley '6 the trip lever 7 is pulled down by the weights 12, which are made sufliciently heavy so that the lug 8 on the triplever 7 will contact with the tripping point 14. of the trip 13 with force enough to disengage the catch 15 from the lug 16 on the stop rod 17. The stop rod 17 is ther-eby'released and the weights 18 pull it downward so that the wheel 19 contacts with the admission valve reach rod 38 with sufiicient force to lower the shoe 23 to the position of quickest cut off for the admis sion valve, thereby automatically slowing down the engine. Theweights 18 are made heavy enough to pull the reach rod; 38 down into the lowest position against friction and rod 17 drops it pulls the cable 34 thereby blowing the whistle 36 to announce the trouble with the belt. 1 V

By replacing or repairing the governor belt 4 and setting the idler pulley 9 on it and raising the stop rod 17 until the catch 15 on the trip 13 engagesthe lug 16, my

' device is again in position to function.

The advantages of my safety device are therefore evident, as it provides a positive automatic means which will prevent'an engine from running away under no load or variable loads when the governor control fails to act. The action of my device is entirely automatic even to the alarm which gives notice of the trouble and my device is comparatively economical to install.

Although I have described and illustrated my invention in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific details thereof, as shown and described, but may use such modifications in, substitutions f0r,.or equivalents thereof, as are embraced within the scope of my invention, or as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters'Patent is 1. The combination with an engine governor of a safety device comprising a weighted stop rod having one end extending over the admission valve reach rod of the engine, a tripadapted to hold said stop rod normally clear of said reach rod, and a weighted trip lever fulcrumed on the engine frame and having the weighted end thereof normally supported by the governor belt whereby when the governor belt breaksthe trip lever act-uates said trip to release the stop rod which drops onto the admission valve reach rod, thereby lowering the same and reducing the engine speed.

2. In combination with a steam engine, a safetyidevice for reducing'the speed of the same, comprising a weighted stop rod pro-. vided with an end adapted to engage the admission valve reach rod of the engine, a trip adapted to hold said stop rod normally clear of said reach rod, a weighted trip lever normally supported by the governor belt and adapted 'to release said trip-when the governor belt breaks, thereby'dropping said step rod onto said reach rod and'causing the latter to decrease the period of admission. V

3. In a steam engine the combination. of an admission valve reach rod adapted to vary the period of steam admission, a weighted stop rod provided with a hooked end extending over said reach rod, a trip adapted to hold said stop rod normally clear of the reach rod, and a weighted trip lever having the weighted end thereof normally supported by the engine governor belt, said trip lever being adapted to release said trip when the governor belt breaks, thereby dropping the stop rod onto the reach rod and lowering the latter to the point of minimum admission.

4. In combination with an engine and a governor therefor, a device for reducing the speed thereof when the governor belt fails to function, comprising a stop rod provided with a hooked end extending over the admission valve reach rod of the engine, a trip adapted to hold said stop rod normally clear of the reach rod, and a weighted trip lever having the weighted end thereof normally supported by the governor belt, said trip lever being adapted to release said trip when the governor belt breaks, thereby dropping said stop rod on to said reach rod and throwing the admission valve of the engine to the position of the quickest cut-01f.

5. In combination with an engine and a governor therefor, a safety device comprising a lever, one end of which is fulcrumed on the engine and the other end provided with a suspended weight and an idler pulley normally adapted to ride the governor belt, thereby acting as a tightener therefor, a weighted stop rod having the upper end thereof bent into hook form and extending over the control lever of the governor, a trip normally adapted to hold said stop rod clear of the governor control lever and also adapted to release said stop rod when the trip lever is dropped into forcible contact with the trip by the breaking or running ofi the pulley of the governor belt, thereby lowering the governor control lever and reducing the speed of the engine.

6. The combination with the drive belt of an engine governor, of a safety device comprising a weighted trip lever having a projection thereon and provided with a pulley normally adapted to rest on the belt and a stop rod provided with a pivoted trip adapted to cooperate with the projection on the trip lever, said stop rod having its upper end hooked over but normally clear of the admission valve reach rod whereby when the governor belt breaks the trip lever disengages the trip and drops the stop rod on to the reach rod thereby lowering the same and reducing the speed of the engine. I

- In witness whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

WILLIAM R. EICHENSER. 

